Holstein Kiel 2026/27 season preview: Transfers, pre-season, predicted lineup & predictions

Holstein Kiel’s debut Bundesliga season was a short-lived one, but a second relegation was right at their doors before replacing their historic coach Marcel Rapp with Tim Walter. The 50-year-old will now have a different responsibility in his first full season at Holstein-Stadion..

How was their 2025/26?

Rapp’s five-year spell came to an end after a fifth successive defeat in February 2026. Walter also managed only a single point from his first three games, but what followed was truly spectacular.

A hard-fought 3-2 victory in Bochum started a run of six unbeaten matches, with lowly Preußen Münster the only team to take points off Kiel. Defeats to relegation-threatened Magdeburg and Dynamo Dresden in the final couple of weeks didn’t matter because of this winning streak.

Kiel finished the season in 12th place, four points adrift of the relegation zone. While they had the league’s fourth-worst attack, none of the bottom-half teams conceded fewer goals than them in the division.

The Coach

After three years with FC Bayern’s youth teams, Tim Walter did start his managerial career at first-team level in Kiel. A sixth-placed finish with the modest club was followed by the chance of coaching former Bundesliga champions Stuttgart and Hamburg in the 2. Bundesliga.

Walter missed out on Bundesliga promotion with playoff defeats in his first two seasons at HSV. There were hardly any good moments in his next gig at Hull City as he was relieved of his duty after a nine-game winless streak, leaving the now-Premier League club in the relegation zone of the Championship.

Having yet to coach in the Bundesliga, Walter decided to return to the spotlight with another role at 2. Bundesliga after a one-year hiatus. Returning to the club where he was shaped as a coach helped him to work in a rather quiet environment compared to his last three assignments.

Transfers

Argentine attacking midfielder Guillermo Balzi is the only permanent signing by Kiel with the club having to pay a transfer fee. The 25-year-old left-footed player was signed for €550k from Newell's Old Boys after spending the last two seasons on loan at Greece club Levadiakos.

With the free transfers of Faride Alidou and Sebastian Schonlau, Walter brought two experienced 2. Bundesliga players from his time at HSV. The former highly-rated striker showed glimpses of his qualities in the second half of last season at Eintracht Braunschweig.

Meanwhile, the ex-HSV captain Schonlau has returned to German football after only making one appearance for Vancouver Whitecaps in an injury-riddled spell. Despite his miserable time in Canada, the defender enjoyed his best performances to date between 2021 and 2023 for Wagner’s HSV.

In addition, center-back Hiroki Sekine and defensive midfielder Taisei Abe joined on initial loan deals. Both Japanese players had previous European football experience as Sekine joined from Reims, while Abe played last season on loan at Luzern.

There is another signing from Ligue 2, with the arrival of Georgian international Giorgi Kvilitaia from Metz. The 32-year-old striker played in all three continental competitions in a well-travelled career.

Pre-season preparations

Kvilitaia was on target in Kiel’s best pre-season result when they beat two-time Asian Champions League winners Al-Ahli 4-1 in mid-July. In the early days of preparations, both clubs used two teams, but it’s still a big win against the then-Matthias Jaissle-led club captained by ex-Stuttgart maestro Enzo Millot.

Wagner’s side followed that with a 2-2 draw against Championship outfit Swansea before defeats against Mainz and Hoffenheim to close out pre-season.

Predicted starting lineup

Jonas Meffert, who previously worked under Walter during their first stint in Kiel and at HSV, is assigned as the new captain, replacing Steven Skrzybski. From the new signings, Sekine, Balzi, Kvilitaia and Alidou could all push for starting berths.

Alexander Bernhardsson will be boosted by his decent World Cup performance for Sweden, while Phil Harres was in very good form up front during pre-season.

Predicted Lineup (4-1-4-1): Weiner; Sekine, Nekic, Zec, Tolkin; Meffert ©; Kapralik, Balzi, Davidsen, Bernhardsson; Harres

Fixture list

Kiel’s journey will start with a trip to Darmstadt before hosting Northern neighbours St. Pauli. While the first were in the race for promotion last season, St. Pauli got relegated after finishing bottom in the Bundesliga. In the first round of the cup, the now fourth-tier side 1860 Munich will be their opponents.

Their last two league games will be against newly-promoted Energie Cottbus and VfL Bochum, who lost on opening night to Hertha BSC.

Expectations & Prediction

Based on the improvements by Wagner, Kiel could be set for a stable season in 2. Bundesliga. With only a few changes from their first season back in the league, it’s fair to predict a midtable finish for the side from the port city.